Dog Food for Thought.
P roper nutrition is important in maintaining a happy and
healthy dog. Here at Even Chance, we strive to feed our
dogs the best and encourage you to do the same.
Pit bulls, like all dogs, require a healthy and balanced
diet. Protein and carbohydrate sources are the most
important factors to look for when choosing a proper dog
food. Check out these tips to help you make excellent
feeding choices for your best friend.
Does the bag draw you in? Although that bag of
inexpensive dog food has real chicken, carrots and grains
on the bag, you may want to double check what is actually
being used to produce the food. You might be surprised
that many of these enticing bags can’t back up their
product labeling with actual ingredients.
Are the pieces of kibble colored to represent the vegetables,
fruit and protein in the food? If so, steer clear! Your dog
does not have a preference on food color, so remember
that color alone does not reflect a healthy, well balanced
food. Processed foods that include dyes are for the sole
purpose of tricking you into thinking that a particular brand
is healthy for your pet.
Check the label!
When shopping for dog food, read the label carefully. Look
for the protein source to be the first one or two ingredients
listed and the carbohydrate source should follow after protein
sources listed.
Yum! Ingredients: Salmon, ocean fish meal, canola oil,
sweet potatoes, potatoes, salmon meal, smoked salmon,
potato fiber.1
Yuck! Ingredients: Corn, soybean meal, ground wheat flour,
beef and bone meal, animal fat (BHA used as preservative),
corn syrup, wheat middlings, water sufficient for processing,
beef, animal digest.2
Tricky tip: If the first ingredient listed is “chicken” or
another whole meat, remember that this ingredient is
really over 70% water, and is therefore more likely the
fourth or fifth ingredient on the list. Protein meals are
more concentrated, so if one of these is listed as first,
this likely really is the first ingredient!
Do you know what these ingredients mean?
Meal
Meat that has been cooked, dried,
and ground, its still meat, and
has not had any added blood,
hair, hoof, horn, hide trimmings,
manure, stomach and rumen
contents except in such amounts
as may occur unavoidably in
good processing practices.1 Look
for products that explicitly state
where the meal is from, such as
‘lamb meal’. Note that the percentage of protein in this cooked meal
will be higher in the food since the
water has been removed. 3
Meat
Meat is the clean flesh derived
from slaughtered animals and is
limited to that part of the muscle
which is skeletal or that is found
in the tongue, diaphragm, heart,
or esophagus; with or without
the accompanying and overlying
fat and the portions of the skin,
sinew, nerve, and blood vessels
which normally accompany the
flesh. When companies use meat
as their first ingredient, it is
measured as a pre-cooked weight
percentage and will actually be
lower after the meat is processed
for the kibble. 3
By-Product
The non-rendered, clean parts,
other than meat, derived from
slaughtered mammals. It includes,
but is not limited to, lungs, spleen,
kidneys, brain, livers, blood, bone,
partially defatted low temperature
fatty tissue, and stomachs and
intestines freed of their contents.
It does not include hair, horns,
teeth and hoofs. It shall be
suitable for use in animal food.
If it bears name descriptive of
its kind, it must correspond
there too.3
Animal Fat or Digest
Obtained from the tissues of
mammals and/or poultry in
the commercial processes of
rendering or extracting. It consists
predominantly of glyceride esters
of fatty acids and contains no
additions of free fatty acids. If an
antioxidant is used, the common
name or names must be indicated,
followed by the words ‘used as
a preservative’. In actuality the
animal source is not specified
or required to give the origin of
slaughtered animals.3
Gross Fact!
In a recent FDA testing, it was concluded that parts of
euthanized and rendered dogs and cats might be ingredients
in pet food. “There appear to be associations between
rendered or hydrolyzed ingredients and the presence of
pentobarbital in dog food. The ingredients Meat and Bone
Meal (MBM), Beef and Bone Meal (BBM), Animal Fat (AF),
and Animal Digest (AD) are rendered or hydrolyzed from
animal sources that could include euthanized animals.4”
(Pentobarbital is a drug used to euthanize dogs and cats)
The only way pet owners can possibly avoid using pet
foods that include ingredients sourced from rendered dogs
and cats is to read ingredients. Until pet food regulations
provide conscientious pet owners with classification of the
ingredients’ origin, we have no option but to assume any dog
food, cat food, or pet treat that contains Animal Fat, Animal
Digest, Beef Tallow and/or Meat and Bone Meal does indeed
include rendered dogs and cats. You might be surprised, but
some of the nation’s most popular brands are testing positive
for Pentobarbital in their ingredients.5
Consider this!
Dehydrated raw diets made by
The Honest Kitchen are a happy
medium between a raw and
commercial diet.
Photography by www.jessedhein.com
Isn’t a raw diet best?
Some argue that canines are true carnivores and maintain a
healthier lifestyle when fed a raw diet. Modern day canines
do not have the proper digestive tract to handle such high
amounts of meat and bone as do animals in the wild. Also,
when not properly prepared or balanced, a raw diet can
actually be quite harmful to your pet. Salmonella poisoning,
bone obstruction, broken teeth and pancreatitis are a few of
the most common disorders seen when improperly feeding
the raw diet.
Remember! Any diet change should be gradual over
5-7 days to decrease gastrointestinal upset.
Top brands we feed and endorse.
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Acana
Artemis
Blue Buffalo
Castor and
Pollux Organix
Canidae
Chicken Soup for the
Dog Lover’s Soul
Dog Whisperer
Earthborn Holistic
✔ Evanger’s
✔ Nature’s Variety
✔ Great Life
✔ Halo Spot’s Stew
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✔ Honest Kitchen
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✔ Innova
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✔ Instinct
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✔ Merrick Pet Care
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✔ Mulligan Stew
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✔ Natural Balance
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Instinct and Prairie
Orijin
Pinnacle Holistic
Pure Vita
Sojos
Solid Gold
Timberwolf Organics
Taste of the Wild
Wellness Brand
Brands we reject.6
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1 Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream Canine Formula 2 Del Monte Foods Kibbles n’ Bits Beefy Bits 4 FDA: www.fda.gov 5 FDA: www.fda.gov Special thanks for contribution by Dr. Suzanne Sutton, DVM
Alpo
Authority
Beneful
Iams
Kibbles n’ Bits
Ol’ Roy
Pedigree
Purina
Royal Canin
Hill’s Science Diet
3 Definitions from www.aafco.org
6 The Whole Dog Journal